


Design Flaw

by MikeJaffa



Category: Bakuretsu Tenshi | Burst Angel
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:55:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 5,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26707069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MikeJaffa/pseuds/MikeJaffa
Summary: Kyohei discovers a quirk in Jo’s genetic programming…and Meg isn’t happy when she finds out about it.





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> HUMOR WARNING: Just in case it’s really funny, put down any food and beverages; I would feel bad if a reader choked.  
> RATING: I’m 95% sure this is “M,” but if anytone thinks it’s MA, I’ll take it down; it’s already at Adult Fan Fiction anyway.  
> DISCLAIMER: Burst Angel is owned by Gonzo, and I am making no money off this. If they find out about this, hopefully they will see it as a testament of the fans’ love for these memorable characters and inspire them to continue their stories. [HINT]
> 
> ADDITIONAL NOTE SEPTEMBER 2020: When I wrote this back in 2013, it was a follow up to "Blush." I thought it was funny. So I was shocked when I got negative comments off the bat. And even though I thought I had explained everything in the story, those readers didn't seem to care and slammed me with an OOC. So while I hope you like it, I know some will not...very passionately.
> 
> But on the other hand, if I'm going to share my Burst Angel fics over here, I have to include the ones that missed the mark. I hope you like it, and if you don't, remember there is a human being on the receiving end of your comments.

“You do understand our agenda, don’t you, Professor?”

“Yes, Mr. Glenford.”

“You do realize that our ultimate goal is to take Jo alive with a minimal amount of damage, if not completely unharmed, don’t you, Professor?”

“Yes, Mr. Glenford.”

“Having her beaten to death would not fulfill that objective, would it, Professor?”

“No, Mr. Glenford.”

“And for Meg to be her assailant -- Meg, of all people!”

“I, too, was surprised she had it in her.”

“That wasn’t the point! Our plans are based on using Meg as leverage. Your own profilers agree that taking her hostage is the only way to placate Jo. Shattering that relationship could negate that.”

“True, Mr. Glenford. But by the same token, without access to Jo, we couldn’t have done anything about it. And even then, we didn’t fully understand it until Maria--”

“We will come back to the Maria situation presently, Professor. Let’s stick to the incident involving Jo and Kyohei Tachibana. Do we know exactly what happened?”

“We have reconstructed the sequence of events, Mr. Glenford.”

“Then by all means, let’s start at the beginning.”

“Very good, sir. Sei had accepted a long standing invitation from her grandfather to visit his Japanese country home, and she had arranged to take Meg and Amy with her--”

“Pardon the interruption, Professor, but where was Leo Jin in all of this? He could have aided the boy.”

“Mr. Jin was visiting his parents in Hawaii, Mr. Glenford.”

“Ah, yes, I remember. Continue.”

“Very good, sir. Jo had elected to remain behind…more or less…and Sei had asked Kyohei to, uh, house sit for the weekend. However, in the rush to leave, they neglected to check their P. O. Box, so Sei decided to drop Jo off at the Love and Happy Culinary Design school and she and Kyohei would pick up the mail. And as near as we can tell, that was where the trouble started…”


	2. II

Kyohei stepped out of the elevator into the culinary school’s ground floor lobby. He crossed to the security guard standing by the front door. “Miss Hongo said you wanted to see me?”

The guard pointed through the glass door. “Her. She says she knows you, but show won’t surrender any weapons.”

Kyo followed where the man pointed. Jo was standing outside the door, just standing there, just looking in. As always, her facial expression was emotionless. She would have stood there for hours if she was left alone, Kyo knew, and ordinarily, that wouldn’t bother him. It would creep out everyone in the school, and cause him (more) embarrassment, but it wouldn’t bother him. Unfortunately, it was raining out, and Jo’s red coat didn’t have a hood. The Angel of Death was soaking wet.

Kyo stuck his head out the door. “Jo. You’ll catch you death of cold. What’s the problem?”

“He wants my guns,” she answered.

Kyo sighed. “Jo, it’s a cooking school! You are not going to find a cybot in a cooking school.”

“Want to be ready.”

“Jo. Pleeeeeeeeezzzzzzzzzzeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.”

Jo smiled slightly. “Ok, Kyo. For you.”

“Thanks.”

Jo came inside, and the security guard sat behind the desk and began recording the two guns in his computer. “Nice guns,” he said. “You shoot competitively?”

“I shoot at bad guys.”

He shrugged. “Name.”

“Jo.”

Kyohei said, “No ‘e.’”

“Jo what?” the guard asked Jo.

“Just Jo.”

He shook his head. “The program needs a surname. Let me see your--”

Kyohei said, “She doesn’t have it, Stan. You name it, she doesn’t have it.”

The guard shook his head. “Then I can’t do this. It’s not me, Kyo, it’s the system.”

Kyo sighed. “Then we’ll say they’re my guns, ok? Can we do that?”

“Are you leaving with her when she’s done?”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah, it can work, if she doesn’t come back, and if her boss stops by or calls to explain on Monday, yeah, Kyo, it can work.” Stan started typing. “I’ll need to see your ID.”

Kyo handed it over and Stan typed in the information. But then he said, “Firearms registration number.”

Kyo sagged. “Oh, no---”

“Wait, let me try this,” Stan said. “I’ll see if I can enter that the application’s pending…and it took it…now it’s thinking about whether it wants to print…here we go…” A printer spat out a form. “Sign here.”

Kyo signed. Stan made a mouse click, and then another form came out. “Here’s your receipt, Kyo. Don’t lose it. When you guys leave, use it to get the guns back.”

“Thanks, Stan.”

In the elevator, Jo couldn’t keep her eyes off Kyo. “You did that for me?” she said, her voice departing from a monotone. “That was very nice of you, Kyo. Thank you.” She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“Uh…you’re welcome.”

At the class room, Kyohei took Jo’s coat and saw the tattoo on her left arm had appeared and was glowing. But instead of being purple, as it was when Jo was in a rage, it was a dark green.

Kyo winced. “Jo! Are you all right?”

“I’m fine, Hon. Why?”

“‘Hon’?”

“I’m sorry.” Jo sounded upset. “I’ve embarrassed you, haven’t I?”

“What--Jo--”

Jo started crying. “I’m always doing that, and you hate me.”

“What--Jo--wait--”

A girl and a lanky boy came over. “Kyo?” the girl, Shiho Kazami asked. “What’s--oh, Jo, is it? I’m Shiho Kazami. We met that night, I think--”

“Yes,” Jo sniffled. “I’m sorry, it’s just that Kyo got mad at me--”

“I’m not mad!” Kyo yelped.

Shiho swatted Kyo on the shoulder. “Kyo! Mind your manners. Can’t you see you’ve see you’ve upset your friend? Apologize, now.”

“But--”

“Consider it an order form your team leader.”

Kyo sighed. “Jo, I’m sorry I…got mad at you. You’re not embarrassing me.”

“I’m not? Really?”

“No, really.”

Jo smiled. 

Shiho said, “See how simple that was?” She turned to Jo. “I’m sorry about this. He’s awful. He makes you sound like a total ogre. But you seem very nice.”

Kyo said, “She’s usually not like this. And the tattoo usually appears when she’s ready to kill something.”

“Huh?” Jo looked down at her arm. “Hmm. Never did that before. What does that mean, Kyo?”

“How should I know!?” 

Jo’s lip trembled, and Kyo feared she would start crying again. He reassuringly put his hand on her shoulder and said, “I’m sure it’s nothing. If you feel ok then, I don’t know, maybe it means that you’re ok. Now, I have a lot of work to do, so why don’t you sit over here until we’re done?”

Jo smiled as she sat on the stool Kyo had indicated. “Ok, Sweetie.”

The other boy in Kyohe’s three person group, Hayao Ichimonji, laughed. “‘Sweetie’? Kyo, my man, I guess we know why you’re getting all the cash.”

Shiho teased, “And now I know why you won’t go out with me.”

Kyo stammered, “I…she…but…God hates me. Guys, c’mon, let’s get back to work.”


	3. III

“Wait a minute, Professor -- are you saying this started because he had her guns registered under his name!?”

“She perceived it as a small act of kindness, Mr. Glenford and yes, that’s what did it.”

“You mean that if anyone is nice to one of the genocide angels, she’ll--”

“It *can* happen. Meg was kind to Jo for a long time and nothing happened; our observations of Maria confirmed that it is both unlikely and unpredictable as to if or when the Angel of Love programming will kick in. Under identical circumstances it might not ever happen again.”

Glenford sighed. “Of all the things that could go wrong with a plan for global domination…”

“Ours is a multifaceted enterprise, Mr. Glenford. Some things could not be anticipated.”

“No crap. All right, Professor. What happened next?”


	4. IV

Kyo did his best not to look at Jo for the remainder of his class, and every time he glanced Jo’s way, she smiled and waved. ‘The others put her up to this,’ he thought. ‘There’ll be a big laugh sooner or later.’

But how did that explain the tattoo?

It had stopped raining by the time classes ended, and Hayao and Shiho walked out with Jo and Kyo. 

Stan noted the way Jo’s bearing had changed when he returned Jo’s guns. “So, I guess you guys patched things up?”

“What?” Kyo stammered. “We’re not -- I mean, she and I--”

Jo said, “Kyo and I are just very close friends.” But the way she beamed at him told a different story.

Stan nodded knowingly. “I see, had a few ‘friends’ like this myself now. Here you go, Jo, and make sure to have your boss fill out the necessary paperwork for you. You may be a licensed merc, but you still need the same ID as the rest of us.”

“I will, Stan. Thank you.”

Shiho and Jo chatted as the walked through the parking garage next to the school.

Shiho asked, “So, seriously, Jo, are you dating Kyohei?”

“No, Shiho, in fact I never thought of that before. But I’d be careful about it. I think someone else might be staking a claim.”

“Who?”

“Our boss. Sei has a huuuuuuuuggggggeeeeee crush on him.”

“No!”

“Yes. She tries to hide it, but she won’t let him quit, she gives him rides in her car, she’s always talking about how he’s a master chef, she’s always nice to him, she never gets mad at him…The other day he made soup for lunch, and he asked her to take a taste. The look on her face when he held the soup spoon to her lips, you’d think he was offering her nectar of the gods.”

“Kee-YO-hei!” Shiho teased. “I never would have dreamed you were such a smooth operator.” Back to Jo: “Have they ever been alone together?”

“Wwwweeeellll….” Jo said in the same teasing tone, “I was half in the bag the day Kyo came to work for us, but I remember Meg saying it took them a while to get back -- Sei had gone to pick him up --”

Hayao said, “Yeah, I was there when he made the call. It was real cloak and dagger. She sent him a text message where he was supposed to meet.” (Kyo murmured, “Take me now, God. I’m ready to come home, Lord.”)

Jo nodded. “And if memory serves me, we had the trailer at a car dealership and there was a little park off the last exit before us, off the 305--”

“I know the park!” Shiho said. “It’s a little lover’s lane. People go there all times of the day. Why, Keee-yooo, you surprise me. I never knew you had it in you. Maybe I should I hire you to cook for me. Are the ‘special services’ extra?”

Jo giggled.

“What--” Kyo stammered “I--she--hey --I--that’s not what happened! I was talking about going to France to become a patissier and we had a lot of food to buy.”

Shiho nodded sagely. “Of course. You just bought food and …‘talked’ French.”

Both girls laughed.

“Damn, man,” Hayao said. “You think they’ll need a second chef, sometime?”

They’d finally got to the parking space where Kyo had left his scooter. “Hayao,” he said, as he got the spare helmet out of its storage box, “you know how I now have a pathological fear of squid?”

Shiho’s mouth widened in mock shock. “Ooh, what, Sei did something with food you weren’t quite ready for? I think you were right, Jo.”

“No--” Kyo stammered, “it was at Tokyo Fortune Island. C’mon, Jo, you were there!”

Jo smiled. “Unfortunately, Sei has ordered that I not divulge what happened. For security reasons.”

Shiho nodded. “Of course. ‘Security.’”

“Judas Priest,” Kyo murmured.

Hayao slapped a handshake with Kyo. “Just givin’ ya a hard time, Bro. See you Monday.”

“Yes,” Shiho said, “see you Monday. Nice meeting you again, Jo.”

Jo and Kyo made their farewells, and as Kyohei’s classmates headed for their vehicles, Jo put on her helmet and said, “I’m sorry, Kyo. I couldn’t resist teasing you. Can you forgive me?”

“Yeah, sure.”

He got on the scooter; Jo got on behind him.

Kyo asked, “Know where we’re going?” He started the bike.

“Yes,” she said. She put her arms around him. “And now that I think about it, there’s a little love hotel right across the street from it, and I think they don‘t always check ID‘s. What say we go in for a little ‘rest,’ Darling, and I make it up to you for being a pain?”

Kyo’s eyes went wide. “‘Darling’?” Then he turned off the scooter and hopped off it. “Ok, that’s it! Joke over. The others put you up to this, didn’t they? Ok, fine, ha ha, you’ve had your fun. Now please go back to normal.”

Jo’s eyes went wide and her lips trembled. The she buried her face in her hands and started sobbing.

“Come on,” Kyo said, “knock it off.”

She didn’t knock it off.

“Jo?” Kyo started feeling worried. This had gone way beyond the bounds of a prank. And then there was the tattoo … what if there was something wrong with Jo? “Jo, are you feeling--”

A car screeched to a stop next to him. Shiho rolled down her window. “Kyo, what--ugh!” She drove off.

“Bu--” Kyo called. The he heard the click of one of Jo’s holsters opening. He turned to see Jo had removed her helmet and she started to bring the gun to her head. 

Kyo didn’t take any chances. He grabbed her arm. “Jo, come on, stop it!” 

The other holster opened and she grabbed the other gun. All Kyo could think to do was grab her arms from behind had hold her in a bear hug. “C’mon, Jo, stop it.”

Jo’s body shook with her sobs and she bowed her head. “J-j-just let me d-d-die,” she sobbed. “You h-h-hate me, you’ve always hated me, and I can’t go on if you h-h-hate me.”

“Wha--Jo--” Then Kyohei heard another vehicle screech to a halt. He looked over his shoulder and saw Hayao in his SUV, looking out the window.

Hayao shook his head. “Jeez, man, is this how you treat--” He shook he head and drove off in disgust.

Kyo shook his head. This was getting ridiculous, but he would have to sort things out with Shiho and Hayao later. “Jo. Please put the guns away. I don’t hate you.”

“Yes, you do,” she sniffled, “ever since I first met you, when Meg was kidnapped because you screwed up.”

“Yes, and you were foaming at the mouth and ready to shoot my junk off.”

She sobbed. “And you’ve hated me ever since!”

“No! I like you, Jo. Ok, you have your…quirks. And yes, you scare me sometime. But you’ve saved my life a couple of times, and I know that if I’m in trouble, you’ll get me out of it. So…you have grown on me. I do NOT hate you. So put the guns away, please?”

“Ok.” 

Kyo heard the weapons slide into their holsters, which clicked shut. He let go of Jo and came around in front of her and brushed her hair away from her eyes, which were bloodshot from crying so hard. He tugged her left sleeve up just enough to see her tattoo and it was still glowing green.

“Jo, are you feeling all right?”

“I don’t know, Kyo. Ok, I guess.”

“But this isn’t like you at all.”

“How do you know? I don’t remember anything from before I met Meg. Maybe this is just another side of me finally coming out. Maybe I’ve always had these feelings for you, but I never voiced them before.” She ran a finger through his hair. “What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing…if you put it that way…but it’s kinda sudden, don’t you think? And the way you were giggling and joking with Shiho…” He trailed off. 

Jo lifted a shoulder. “Maybe I really am just a normal girl after all.”

“Maybe, but I’d be more comfortable knowing what this means. So, let’s pick up the mail and head back to the trailer and see if we can figure things out. Ok?”

“Ok, hone-- I mean, Ok, Kyo.”

They put on their helmets. As Kyo exited the garage, Jo held him tightly, almost snuggling with him as she gave directions in his ear. Kyo wouldn’t have minded if had been anyone else…and if he wasn’t feeling so nervous…


	5. V

The P. O. Box contained an unremarkable assortment of bills and junk, and a notice that there was something to be picked up at the front counter. Someone had to sign for it, but the clerk allowed Kyo to do it as an “agent.” It was a rectangular cardboard box maybe 45 centimeters long and almost half as wide, but Jo said she could carry it under one arm. It was addressed to Meg and it was from something in the United States called the Acme Novelty Company.

Jo asked, “What’s this?”

“I don’t know,” Kyo said. “We’ll leave it aside for Meg.”

“Ok, Honey Pie.” Jo giggled. “Pumpkin pie?”

The clerk overheard her. He said, “You know, the love hotel across the street--”

“Yes, thank you,” Kyo said hastily, “but my FRIEND and I have to get home.”

“Yes, of course. Well, I hope you and your ‘friend’ have a pleasant evening.”

As he led Jo out to the scooter, Kyo reflected that having Jo enraged and pointing a gun at his privates wasn’t necessarily a bad thing after all. Although the pet names were starting to grow on him…

Back at the trailer, Jo darted back to Meg’s room. Kyo took the opportunity to sneak into the cockpit and call Sei’s cell phone. It went straight to voice mail -- she’d turned her phone off for vacation, obviously. But Kyo still left a message after the beep: “Hi, Sei, it’s Kyo. Jo is acting…weird. There’s no other way to describe it. And her tattoo’s been glowing green, so who knows what that means. I’ll call you back if things get…stranger…but otherwise, enjoy your trip.” He clicked off. 

“You’re worried about me,” Jo purred behind him. “That is so sweet.”

Kyo turned and for a moment wondered who was the silver-haired supermodel who had put on Jo’s clothes. Jo had never worn makeup, and for all he knew she didn’t know what it was. But there she was, wearing lipstick, eye shadow, eye liner, mascara, and rouge, all applied so perfectly that one would think she had had it done professionally. And she smelled…fantastic.

Jo shifter her weight to one foot and ran her fingers through her hair and smiled warmly. “You like?”

“I..Damn, Jo, yeah, you look great! I mean…wow.”

“I was in Meg’s room, and I thought I’d use some of her makeup to make myself look pretty for you.” She began rubbing his chest and taking deep breaths. “I want to make it up to you for all the mean things I’ve done and said,” she breathed in an unbelievably steamy voice. “I look at you and I see all these pictures in my head, all these things I can do to you to make you feel good. And I want to, Kyo. I want to make you feel good. I want it so bad.”

“Uh…” As appealing as the situation was, huge alarm bells were going off in Kyo’s mind. He held up his phone. “You know, maybe I should try Sei again--”

“No more phone calls.” She snatched the phone from him and hurled it against the wall. “I’m done talking. I want you.” She pushed a kiss onto his mouth and pushed him down onto one of the captain’s chairs. She jumped onto his lap, straddling him. She bit his neck as she tugged at his clothes and said in his ear, “Take me, Kyo, take me now. I can’t wait any longer--”

“H-hold on!” Kyo surprised himself -- as aroused as he was, he still had to will power to push her back. “Jo, please, come on, this isn’t like you. Let’s…whoo… let’s take it easy, all--”

Jo’s face twisted in rage, “Oh, I get it. You want her, don’t you?”

“Who?”

“Sei! And don’t think I don’t know you’re lusting after her. I guess dark hair and huge breasts are what do it for you?”

“Jo--” 

She slapped him hard. “BASTARD! And I thought you were nice.” Another slap; Kyo noted the tattoo had turned black. “You son of a--” She started to pound him with her fists.

Kyo brought his hands up to try to protect himself. “ALL RIGHT!” Kyo shouted, tears streaming down his cheeks. “All right. I’ll do it,” he sobbed. “I-I’ll do anything you ask. J-just stop hitting me.”

“Kyo.” Jo pulled him into a hug. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened.” She rocked him in her arms as the tattoo turned green again. “I’m sorry…”

“Stop hitting me.”

“I won’t hit you, Dear Heart. I’ll never raise a hand to you again.” She kissed him tenderly and then wiped his cheeks. “I’m sorry. You don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to. I still want you, but I won’t force it.”

“J-Jo, something’s…something’s wrong with you. This isn’t right…”

“I know, I think you’re right. Ok, I’ll keep my hands off, and I’ll wait and see what the others say.” She stood up and spread her arms. “Come here. Make up hug.”

They embraced and Jo said, “Still friends?”

“Yes, Jo, still friends.”

“All right. Tell you what, you keep fixing dinner, and I’ll sort through the mail. And if I ever try to hit you again, I’ll shoot myself -- in the leg.”

Kyo smiled in spite of himself. “Ok, Jo."


	6. VI

The phone was a total loss, but Jo promised she would replace it. She almost sobbed. “I’m always breaking your things.”

Kyo smiled. “But at least that’s normal for you.”

Jo smiled. “All right.”

Kyo busied himself in the kitchen as Jo sorted the mail. Then she said, “I wonder what Meg got?”

“You shouldn’t look through someone else’s mail, Jo.”

“I know, Kyo, but it’s Meg. I think she’ll understand. And I’m feeling a little naughty.”

‘No crap,’ he thought, but he just nodded as Jo darted to Meg’s room. 

They opened the box cardboard box and pulled out another box and found out what the Acme Novelty Company made: Meg had ordered a 25 centimeter long strap-on dildo. 

“Wow, it’s so lifelike,” Jo said. She put the dong on the counter -- too close for Kyo’s comfort -- and began to pull other little bottles and tubes out of the box. “And look at all this other stuff.” Then she removed a DVD. “‘A Woman’s Best Friend,’” she read: “‘An Interactive Guide to the Joys of Strap On Sex for Beginners and Experienced Users.’ Wanna watch it with me?”

“Uh, can it wait until after dinner?”

“Of course.” Then she eyed the dong thoughtfully. “Do you think Meg wants to use it, or does she want me to use it?”

“I have no idea.”

“Well, I’d best make sure it fits, just in case.”

Before Kyo could say anything, Jo had slipped her legs through the straps and was bucking it on. 

“There,” she said. “What do you think?”

“It, uh, it looks good on you, Jo. It’s you.”

She smiled. “Thank you.” Then she fished a booklet out of the box and started to read it.

Kyo hazarded, “Are you going to keep that thing on?”

“Yes.”

“But--” 

“You just said it looked good on me.”

“It does, but--”

“What?”

“Never mind. If it makes you happy, it makes me happy.”

That placated her, and Kyo thought, ‘Why did I say that? I am never going to hear the end of this.’

After dinner, there was no talking Jo out of watching the DVD. She put it in the home entertainment system, put the materials that had come with the dildo on the coffee table, and settled down on the couch next to Kyo, resting her head on his shoulder as she clicked through the options. No matter which way Kyo turned his head, he could not keep … it …out of his field of vision.

At the mention of the idea that a girl could use a strap-on to have anal sex with a man, Jo’s ears perked up. “Wow. That looks interesting. See ‘pegging.’”

Kyo remembered this old movie he once watched as a kid, *Raiders of the Lost Ark,* and how at the end, some character’s faces had melted. Kyo felt as though that would happen to him any second as they watched the video lay out the particulars of…of…

Jo grinned. “That looks interesting!” She turned to Kyo. “Wanna try it?”

“Uh, Jo…” He eyed her tattoo to make sure it was still green. “I thought we agreed…”

“I know, Kyo,” she said, snuggling closer and bringing her face slightly closer to his. Kyo couldn’t take his eyes off her. The red eyes that usually were frightening had become soothing, and her lips…he was just dying to kiss them, but he had to be strong…

“…but here’s what I’m thinking,” Jo went on. “Maybe, if we do something, I’ll snap back to normal.”

“Or you’ll go all black widow on me.”

“If I feel that happen, I’ll lock myself in my room, and you run for it. But I think this might work.”

“And if it doesn’t? If you stay like this?”

“You get to have sex with me for the rest of the weekend. And what could be wrong about that?”

“Nothing, if you put it that way, but do you have to shove that up my butt?”

“I think I can do it and make it good for you; the video’s instructions seemed clear enough.”

“No crap.”

“Kyo…” Jo whispered, getting even closer, “I understand your feelings. But I want to. I think this might help me, and more than that, I do want to be nice to you. And I’ve never felt like this before, and I want to enjoy it. To know what it would be like if I was just another girl and you were just another guy and we were in love like regular people are…”

And then they were kissing.


	7. VII

“…and under the circumstances, Mr. Glenford, young Kyohei could not have resisted if he wanted to. In the Angel of Love mode, the girls’ bodies emit an odorless pheromone and after several hours of exposure--”

“I read the brief, Professor.”

“Yes, Mr. Glenford.”

“And by this time, Sei had checked her voice mail and decided to come back?”

“Yes, Mr. Glenford, especially when she was unable to reach Kyohei‘s phone.”

“When did they arrive?”

“About a half an hour after Kyohei and Jo, uh, started…”


	8. VIII

“Jo? Kyohei?” Sei called as she led Meg and Amy into the trailer. There was no sign of anyone, although there were the remains of a meal on the kitchen table. But no sign of foul play. Still, Sei added, “Now I’m getting worried.”

Meg found an empty cardboard box on the kitchen counter. She was reading the label when she thought she heard voices. She darted to the rear of the trailer and slid open the door to her and Jo’s room. Jo’s voice snarled out into the hall: “--little whore! Take my big--”

Meg’s jaw dropped. “WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!?” she shouted.

Sei and Amy came up behind Meg, looked around her, and their eyes went wide: Kyo was lying naked on Jo and Meg’s bed, something propping up his lower back, his legs spread in the air. Jo -- whom Sei almost didn’t recognize because of the professional-looking makeup job she had -- was topless and on top of Kyo. They could see leather straps around her hips, which slowly rocked back and forth. Her tattoo was green with small patches of purple in it.

Kyo had an erection, mouth-shaped bite marks on his neck, and lipstick smeared on his mouth. He looked at Meg and whimpered, “Please, kill me.”

“Oh…Meg… hi,” Jo said. “I didn’t hear you come in. Uh… I know how this looks…”

“Oh,” Meg said, “you mean you’re not really plowing Kyo in our bed?”

“No, I am,” Jo said, “but I can explain. See, the tat turned green and -- oh, look patches of purple -- it’s working, Kyo --”

“I can die happy, Jo. Seriously, I can die now--”

“Quiet,” Jo said. She bent down and kissed him. “I’ll owe ya for this, buddy. Now, let me do the talking. Anyway, Meg, the tat turned green, and I started wanting to have sex with Kyohei, and I did try to rape him earlier, as a matter of fact, but after we opened your package -- by they way, who did you want to use it, you or me? -- anyway, after we opened your package, I thought that if I did have sex with him, I would snap back to normal and not want to have sex with him anymore, and as you can see, it’s working. So if you guys could give us a few more minutes, I’m sure--”

Meg screamed curses and lunged at Jo; Sei charged in and tried to hold Meg back.

Amy turned, ran out of the trailer, locked herself in the back seat of the sports car, hugged her teddy bear/laptop, and said, “It’s times like this I wonder if this is an appropriate environment for a girl my age.”


	9. IX

“Are Jo and Kyohei expected to make a full recovery, Professor?”

“Yes, Mr. Glenford. The injuries were not that severe. And remarkably, considering the circumstances, young Kyohei suffered no serious damage to his--”

“Too much information, Professor.”

“Yes, Mr. Glenford.”

“What about Jo and Meg’s personal relationship?”

“Healing, sir; Jo apparently completed the transition to her normal state during the assault. We should be able to use Meg as leverage when the time comes.”

“Finally, some good news. Now, do we know why what happened…happened?”

“We think so, Mr. Glenford. As you know, the genocide angels were conceived as having several rolls, not just as front line troops but also in intelligence gathering and infiltration, and that included being able to function as seductresses.”

“Yes, Professor, the so-called Angel of Love programming. But I thought it didn’t work.”

“That’s what we thought when we ran preliminary tests on the girls when they…matured. But it is there, and even then, it is not working right. Instead of a seductress, the angel becomes clingy and insecure with an insatiable sexual appetite as a result of the smallest act of kindness. That’s how we found out. A technician who has become fond of Maria snuck her out of the facility and invited her to join in with his friends in a weekly poker game. She went through those men like a hot knife through butter.”

“How are they doing, by the way?”

“No lasting physical injuries, but I’m afraid they will require psychotherapy for some time, Mr. Glenford.”

“Indeed, Professor. Well, what is to be done about it? Can we rewrite their DNA?”

“Not feasible, sir; we’d never get all the cells in their bodies. But once we identified the relevant neural pathways, we were able to implant a suggestion in Maria that if she feels the Angel of Love programming start, she should go to sleep. A ten minute nap is long enough to reset it.”

“So if you’re nice to her, she falls a asleep.”

“It’s more like fainting, Mr. Glenford. I’m sorry, but that’s all we can do. And that’s for Maria. We can’t do anything to Jo until she’s in our custody. We can’t even warn her friends. We’ll just have to hope this doesn’t happen again.”

“Yes, for the sake of people we hope to use and discard, we’ll just have to hope that a genetically engineered living weapons system doesn’t become an emotionally troubled nymphomaniac the next time someone gives her the time of day. I have to hand it to you, Professor: That is one heck of a design flaw.”

THE END


End file.
